Means for mechanically massaging the human body.



- J. A. WA-RD.

MEANS FOR MEGHANIGALLY MASSAGING THE HUMAN BODY.

. APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 23, 1911. 1,026,480.

Patented May 14, 1912.

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JULIUS A. WARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MEANS FOR MEGI-IANICALLY MASSAGING THE HUMAN BODY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 23, 1911.

Patented May 14, 1912. Serial No. 645,604.

To all whom 26 may COMM-n Be it known that I, JULIUs A. WARD, a citizenof the United States, residing in New York city, in the county of NewYork and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Means for Mechanically Massaging the Human Body, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement for mechanically aiding intreatment by massage, manipulation, or kneading of the human body orparts of the same.

One of the advantages of my discovery is that in case of organictroubles of certain kinds where manipulation is required and the diseaseis in organs that are deep seated, I am enabled by my presentimprovement to cause the manipulation or kneading to reach said affecteddeep-seated diseased parts,

thereby increasing the circulation of blood and thereby obtainbeneficial and desirable therapeutic results. It has heretofore beencustomary to use the bare hands lIl such manipulations and this is notonly very tiring to the operator but has the further disadvantage thatmost of the 'force exerted by the operator is lost by skin friction, andfurther, some of the force is also absorbed by the muscular sheathingthat protects the organs of the body. This absorption of force by theskin and muscles naturally reduces the amount of manipulation thatfinally reaches the organ to be treated, and it is to obviate thisdifliculty of absorption or loss due to the said friction between thehand of the operator and the body of the one being operated upon, that Ihave devised a system wherein the body of the individual to be operatedupon is protected in the particular region where the kneading ormanipulation is required, by means of a shield which is preferably madeof a flexible and glossy material on the kneading surface, combined witha flexible clinging or adhering material on the part of said shield thatgoes next to the body of the individual. There may be one or more layersof material between the outer fabric and the inner fabric for thepurpose of thickening the pad or shield where required. This shield isarranged in various shapes to conform to the part of the body to betreated and 1t 1s to be held in position over the exact region by meansof suitable fastenings, in this instance indicated in the drawings bythe well "rials.

A further advantage of my device is that I provide means whereby selftreatment may be accomplished and at the same time eliminate a certainamount of laborious work in the way of a downward pressure upon theundulator for the purpose of getting the necessary force formanipulation, and the means whereby this is accomplished will behereinafter described in detail.

The main and the most important feature,

however, is that this manipulating head must have a highly polishedsurface so as to have as little friction between the shield and theundulator as possible. Further, these instruments may be of variousshapes and two of those which I have discovered to be the most useful inpractice are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

A further advantage is, that to unify the body protecting shield, thecomponent fabrics are stitched together, this stitching may also bearranged to indicate the direction of rotation of movement on theparticular part to be operated upon, and this direction of rotationeither to the right or left, may be indicated on the various shields tobe used on the various parts of the body for various kinds of treatment.

By removing the tendency of friction be tween the undulator and theshield, a deep reaching agreeable efiect, or undulation upon the desiredorgans, is eifected, and in the case of abdominal treatment and with theproper direction of movement, the efiect is to stimulate the peristaltisof the alimentary canal and the lymphatics, and to accelerate thecirculation of the blood.

I am aware that oestopaths manipulate the body by hand and usuallythrough one of the under garments, but this garment is generally loosefitting and is apt to move with the hand or the movements of the fingersand thereby cause an irritation to the skin of the person being operatedupon, and this is one of the unpleasant after effects which is entirelydue to the direct friction on the skin. the loss of power due tomovement of said garment.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows a partial outline of thehuman body with three different types of shield attached at threedifferent places in varying positions. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of oneof the pads. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the kneadinginstruments. Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view of one of the shieldsshowing it as formed of two fabrics. Fig. 5 is a partial section of oneof the shields, showing a third or intermediate fabric. Fig. 6 issectional view of another form of undulator head. Fig. 7 is a sectionalview of the shield taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 is shown an outline of the human figure having shields 1, 2,and 3, shown on various portions of the body. The abdominal shield 1 isshown as having straps 4, 5, and .6, for the purpose of firmly attachingthe same to the body against movement during treatment. The arm pads 2and 3 also have attaching devices of the same nature, although notshown.

In Fig. 2 is shown an enlarged view of the abdominal pad showing the legstraps 1 and 5 and the shoulder strap 6, and a portion of the buttock orwaist straps 7 and S. It will be noted on all of these pads that acontinuous stitching 9 is arranged on the surface of the shields in aspiral or sinuous manner. Thisstitching is for the double purpose ofcombining these shields together where they are made of several fabrics,and also indicating the direction of movement of the undulator, or thesuccession of pressure of the same. In the case of abdominal shieldsthis lining or stitching is arranged to run from right to left which isthe general direction of the intestines, the said abdominal shield beingmade large enough to cover the entire intestinal region. In the case ofshields intended for protecting other parts of the body, the stitchingmay be varied in its direction to suit the specific requirements of thelocal treatment thereon. On the shield shown in Fig.2 is shown buckles10, 11, 12, and 13, all of which are utilized to adjust their respectivestraps to the proper tension as shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 3 is shown one form of an undulator having a handle portion 13and a detachable head portion 141-, the handle portion 13 having at oneend thereof a cylindrical extension 15, the purpose of which will bedescribed later. The head portion 1 1 may be attached to the handleportion 13 by being screwed into a like threaded socket in said headportion. While the handle por- A further disadvantage is in tion 13 maybe constructed of some suitable material such as wood, I have found itan advantage to construct the undulator heads 14 and 17 of variousmaterials for various treatments, ranging from hard highly polishedglass, down to a more resilient or semi-hard rubber. The mainrequirement is that any of the said heads of various degrees of hardnesshave the highest amount of polish possible to the materials used.

In Fig. 6 is shown a sectional view of another style of undulator headwhich is substantially a cupped shaped member 17 having a threadedsocket portion 18 for receiving therein the extension 16 of the handle13, the edge of the cup portion 19 being utilized during manipulation.

In Fig. 5 is shown a fragmentary sectional portion of a shield comprisedof an under adhering fabric 22, an outer non-frictional fabric 23, bothof these fabrics being similar to that described for Fig. 1, but havinganother fabric or padding member 21 intermediately arrangedtherebetween. This extra material may be used upon persons of lessphysical vigor and is adapted to give extra protection against too harshtreatment.

In Fig. t is shown a fragmentary portion in section of the shieldmembers 1, 2, and 3, and shown therein as being comprised of a dualfabric, said fabric being composed of an under adhering fabric 20, suchas rubberized cloth, and an outer or smooth fabric 21, such as silk.Ordinarily the under fabric 20 may be composed of awoven cottonmaterial, specially treated with a rubber compound, to make it adhere tothe skin and the outer fabric may be composed of a smooth tightly wovensilk orlike material, which, when used in conjunction with an undulatorhaving a highly polished head permits of easy manipulation with aminimum amount of friction between said head and said fabric In Fig. 7is shown a sectional view of the abdominal shield member taken on line2-2, Fig. 2, and attached to the shield by means of buckles 25,26, 27and 28, is shown an elastic cross-shaped member 29 which is comprised oftwo over-lapping members 30 and 31. These over-lapping members, asindicated in Fig. 2, have a small opening 32 centrally arranged at theintersection thereof, and into this opening is introduced the point 15of one of the undulating members, such as is shown in Fig. 3, and theelastic members are then drawn up through the buckles 25, 26, 27, and28, to a suitable tension, the undulator member 13 remaining in anupright position upon the shield. An adjustable pressure is thencreatedupon the undulator member 13 and with the said abdominal shieldproperly strapped into positiona patient may grasp the handle 13 and bymoving the head 14 with a circular swinging motion and following thedirection of the line of the stitches 9, the manipulator is enabled totreat himself properly and easily without the necessity of exerting aninward pressure.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a system of manipulation as described, a protective body shieldadapted to be removably attached to the body, said shield being composedof a composite flexible fabric having an outer glossy surface, the undersurface thereof being comprised of an adhering fabric.

2. In a system of manipulation as described, a protective body shieldadapted to be removably attached to the body, said shield being composedof a composite flexible fabric having an outer glossy surface, the undersurface thereof being comprised of an adhering fabric, and having anintermediate fabric therebetween.

3. In a system of manipulation as described, a protective body shieldadapted to be removably attached to the body, said shield being composedof a composite flexible fabric having an outer glossy surface, the undersurface thereof being comprised of an adhering fabric, and having anintermediate fabric therebetween, said fabrics being bound together bycontinuous stitchmg.

4. In a system of manipulation as described, a protective body shieldadapted to be removably attached to the body, said shield being composedof a composite flexible fabric having an outer glossy surface, the undersurface thereof being comprised of an adhering fabric, and having anintermediate fabric therebetween, said fabrics being bound together bycontinuous stitching, said stitching being arranged to indicate thedirection of movement of manipulation thereon.

5. In a system of manipulation as described, a protective body shieldadapted to be removably attached to the body, said shield being composedof a composite flexible fabric having an outer glossy surface, the undersurface thereof being comprised of an adhering fabric, and having anintermediate fabric therebetween, said fabrics being bound together bycontinuous stitching, said stitching being arranged in a spiral orlongitudinal manner to indicate the direction of manipulation thereon.

JULIUS A. WARD.

Witnesses:

H. D. PENNEY, FRED. J. DOLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

